This invention generally relates to an opening/closing apparatus of an opening/closing body for a vehicle and a method for opening/closing such a body. More particularly, this invention relates to an opening/closing control apparatus and an opening/closing control method of a slide door driven by a motor installed on a side of the vehicle.
One example of an opening/closing control apparatus, such as a speed control apparatus, of an opening/closing body is known from Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 9(1997)-125818. In the speed control apparatus of the opening/closing body, the moving speed of the slide door is detected intermittently. A controller judges whether the detected value is greater than an upper limit to be set for a target speed or whether the detected value is less than a lower limit (condition 1). When condition 1 is repeated two times, the controller detects an adaptation difference in which the moving speed is too fast or too late, and the controller adjusts an adjustment amount by which the target speed changes based on the adaptation difference. Further, the moving speed of the slide door based on the adjustment amount is detected, the adjustment amount is adjusted again. Therefore, the adaptation difference for the target speed of the slide door is reliably detected. Thereby, even if gravity acts on the slide door on a sloping road, for example, the moving speed is controlled with respect to the target speed.
However, in the speed control apparatus of the opening/closing body in the above-mentioned published application, because the adjustment amount for changing the target speed is adjusted based on only the present speed of the opening/closing body, an opening/closing body having a large inertia weight such as a slide door of a vehicle is difficult to control with a small delay for the target speed. Particularly when the target speed changes according to an opening/closing position of the slide door and the sliding resistance fluctuates, the door speed is difficult to control with a small delay for the target speed as the speed changing pattern of the opening/closing body changes for the same adjustment amount.
A need exists for a way of controlling the speed of an opening/closing body for the target speed with a small delay even if a load acting on the opening/closing body or the target speed is changed by changing of the position of the opening/closing body with an opening/closing control apparatus and method of the opening/closing body for a vehicle, of which an opening/closing speed of the opening/closing body is controlled for the target speed according to on the position of the opening/closing body.
One aspect of the invention involves an opening/closing control method of an opening/closing body for a vehicle including detecting a position of the opening/closing body within an opening/closing area moving the opening/closing body and a motion speed of the opening/closing body at the position of the opening/closing body, obtaining a predetermined target speed of the opening/closing body at the position of the opening/closing body, controlling a feeding value for a motor moving the opening/closing body based on the motion speed and the target speed, driving the motor by a torque depend on the feeding amount includes steps of calculating a speed difference between the motion speed and the target speed for the position of the opening/closing body at every detecting time of the motion speed, calculating an acceleration/deceleration value such as a speed difference between a last detected motion speed and a present detected motion speed, setting a feeding amount increasing/decreasing value for changing the torque of the motor based on at least the speed difference and the acceleration/deceleration value, and controlling the motor by a torque depending on one of a feeding value added a last obtained feeding value to the feeding amount increasing/decreasing value and a feeding value subtracted the feeding amount increasing/decreasing value from the last obtained feeding value.
The feeding amount is determined based on the speed difference between the target speed and motion speed of the opening/closing body when the motion speed is detected and on the acceleration/deceleration value such as the speed difference between the last detected motion speed and the present detected motion speed, and the motor torque is adjusted by the feeding amount. Therefore, even if the load acting on the opening/closing body changed by opening/closing of the opening/closing body, or the target speed is set so as to be change according to the position of the opening/closing body, the speed of the opening/closing body is controlled for the target speed at the position of the opening/closing body within small delay.
According to another aspect of the invention, an opening/closing control apparatus of an opening/closing body for a vehicle includes motor operating means for operating a motor driving the opening/closing body by a torque depending on a feeding amount, position detecting means for detecting a position of the opening/closing body within a opening/closing area moving of the opening/closing body, target speed memory means for memorizing a target speed of the opening/closing body to be set at the position of the opening/closing body within the opening/closing area, motion speed detecting means for detecting a motion speed of the opening/closing body, speed difference obtaining means for calculating the target speed at the position of the opening/closing body and the motion speed at every detecting time of the motion speed, acceleration/deceleration value obtaining means for calculating the acceleration/deceleration value such as a speed difference between the last detected motion speed and the present detected motion speed, feeding increasing/decreasing value setting means for setting a feeding increasing/decreasing value changing the torque of the motor based on the speed difference and the acceleration/deceleration value, and motor control means for controlling the motor by one of a feeding value added the last obtained feeding value to the feeding increasing/decreasing value and a feeding value subtracted the feeding increasing/decreasing value from the last obtained feeding value.
The torque of the motor is determined by controlling a feeding value based on the speed difference between the target speed at the position of the opening/closing body and motion speed and the acceleration/deceleration value such as the speed difference between the last detected motion speed and the present detected motion speed. Therefore, even if the load acting on the opening/closing body changed by moving of the opening/closing body, or the target speed is set so as to be changed according to the position of the opening/closing body, the speed of the opening/closing body is controlled for the target speed at the position of the opening/closing body within small delay.
The opening/closing control apparatus further includes moving direction detecting means for detecting a moving direction of the opening/closing body, the feeding increasing/decreasing value setting means sets the feeding increasing/decreasing value based on the speed difference, the acceleration/deceleration value, and the motion direction when the positions of the opening/closing body is in an acceleration/deceleration area where the target speed is increased/decreased depending on a change of the position of the opening/closing body. When the target speed is in the acceleration/deceleration area where the target speed depending on the position of the opening/closing body increases or decreases, the feeding increasing/decreasing value is set based on the moving direction according to the changing of the target speed. Therefore, when the target speed increases by the motion of opening/closing body, the increasing value of the feeding increasing/decreasing value is larger than the decreasing thereof, thereby the speed of the opening/closing body is controlled so as not to large apart from the target speed. Further, when the target speed decreases, the decreasing value of the feeding increasing/decreasing value is larger than the increasing value thereof, thereby the speed of the opening/closing body is controlled so as not to large apart from the target speed. Accordingly, in the acceleration/deceleration area changing the target speed, the speed of the opening/closing body is controlled for the target speed at the position of the opening/closing body within small delay. Furthermore, when the speed of the opening/closing speed dropped from the target speed by entrapment of the obstacle etc., a large load by the motion of the opening/closing body does not act on the object, as the feeding amount does not increase rapidly.
The feeding increasing/decreasing value setting means sets an increasing value from a sum of plural feeding increasing/decreasing values to be predetermined set in the acceleration/deceleration area when the moving direction of the opening/closing body is a direction increasing the target speed in the acceleration/deceleration area, and sets an decreasing value from a sum of plural feeding increasing/decreasing values to be predetermined set in the acceleration/deceleration area when the moving direction of the opening/closing body is a direction decreasing the target speed in the acceleration/deceleration area. When the opening/closing body moves in a direction increasing the target speed, the sum of plural times of the feeding increasing/decreasing values to be predetermined set in the acceleration/deceleration area is set as the increasing value, and when the motion of the opening/closing body is the direction decreasing the target speed, the speed of the opening/closing body is controlled so as not to large apart from the target speed. Accordingly, in the acceleration/deceleration area changing the target speed, the speed of the opening/closing body is controlled by a small delay for the target speed at the position of the opening/closing body.
The feeding increasing/decreasing value setting means sets from each sum of the increasing value and the decreasing value of plural feeding increasing/decreasing values to be predetermined set in a large load area is larger than each sum of the increasing value and the decreasing value of plural feeding increasing/decreasing values to be predetermined set in an area except the large load area when the position of the opening/closing body is in a large load area where a load resistance by a moving of the opening/closing body is large. In the large load area where the load resistance acting on the opening/closing body is large, the amount by which the speed of the opening/closing body changes for the target speed is larger than the amount which the speed thereof in the area except the large load area. Accordingly, even if the load resistance according to the change of the position of the opening/closing body changes, the speed of the opening/closing body is controlled by a small delay for the target speed in all of the opening/closing area.
The opening/closing control apparatus can further include overload detecting means for detecting whether the load resistance acting on the opening/closing body is more than a predetermined load judging value, and reverse control means for controlling the motor by a predetermined overload feeding amount when the load resistance is more than the load judging value, and moving the opening/closing body in a reverse direction. When the large load such as the overload acts on the opening/closing body during the motion of the opening/closing body, the opening/closing body is driven in the reverse direction by the speed of the opening/closing body according to the overload-feeding amount to be predetermined, set. Accordingly, for example, as the overload feeding amount is set as the maximum feeding amount for the motor, the time when the load by the opening/closing body acts on the object can be short.